Michelle Richards received a MS in Human Performance from the University of South Florida where she completed her major area of studies in restoring mobility and strength and conditioning.

Michelle Richards is a very young and energetic visionary who purchased a gym called CrossFit Hyde Park in 2016. She chose to buy into the CrossFit system for one main reason – it’s ability to bring together the community better than any other fitness community. As a gym owner, Michelle wants to do more than simply teach exercise, she is on a mission to help those in pain heal, those who cannot move become mobile and become a spark for those who want to feel like they belong to a caring wellness community.

Over the better part of the last decade, Michelle has developed a strong reputation for helping rehabilitate injured joints and develop movement in all populations. But she soon realized that coaching hour-to-hour only allows her to help a limited number of people. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long to expand her practice and her reach. Her reputation soon led her to create an environment to teach more people a better way to train and gain confidence in their bodies. Enter the beginnings of CrossFit Hyde Park which has now evolved into Tampa Movement Lab, a gym that hosts CrossFit, personal training and small group classes. As a professor of Applied Kinesiology at The University of Tampa, she dedicates part of her spare time to teaching the next generation of coaches the same methods to help others.

Yet she hasn’t stopped there. Michelle has used Tampa Movement Lab as a vehicle to transform the lives of those with special needs. Since taking over ownership of the facility, Michelle has hosted many fitness related charity events for those with special needs to help support them, their families and recognize them for their abilities rather than their disabilities.

Her mission of making the Tampa Bay community a better place through movement and fitness is being carried out daily at Tampa Movement Lab.